Another Side
by estellenorean
Summary: A group of friends were working on a project when they created an explosion. They discovered that they're in the world of ATLA. But things seem to turn out to the unexpected. My first fanfic.
1. The Fall

Chapter 1: The Fall

Lavender POV:

A few days ago my friends and I were working on our chemistry project for the second semester. I was holding a beaker of chemicals in my hand and so was Ally. Our friend Lili was talking to Amber.

"How are we supposed to finish this on time? And what exactly is our project?" Amber asked.

"Um, actually I don't know," I answered.

"Then who knows?" Ally said with a confused look.

"Do you?" Lili, Ally and I, chorused while turning our heads to Amber. Amber kept quiet.

"We could make bracelets and dip them in chemicals to make them glow in the dark," Amber suggested.

"That sounds like good idea," I said.

"Can chemicals bend elements?" Ally asked.

"Let's find out!" Lili replied with excitement. Lili grabbed the beakers containing the chemicals, dipped the bracelets then...KABOOM!...

I saw something that seemed like a black hole sucking us into another dimension.  
Before I could react, we were sucked in. A path of light beamed from above.

"What's going on?" I yelled.

"Lili. what did you do?" Ally looked at her.

"I just created an explosion?" Lili answered.

"Great," I muttered sarcastically.

"Um, guys, we just got sucked in a black hole and in case you haven't noticed, WE'RE FALLING FROM THE SKY!" Amber yelled.

All of us started screaming then.

"We're falling from the sky which means we're just about going to die. Um, any last words?" Ally never seemed so scared before.

I looked down. To be honest I was scared to death. I suddenly saw the edge of a cliff. "Earth?" I wasn't supposed to say that out loud.

"WHAT?" Lili looked up to me shocked.

"We're about to hit land," I said.

"Ok whatever happens, let's just hope we survive. And if we don't, I'm happy enough that you guys happen to be my friends. And BRACE YOURSELVES!" Amber usually doesn't say a lot but that was the longest thing she's ever said.

All of us closed our eyes and silently prayed that we could survive the fall.


	2. What!

Chapter 2: What!

Lavender POV:

"Aaaaahhhhhhh!" we screamed as we landed. Eventually the earth at the side of the cliff was thin and we had to go through it. The sound it made was like a plop.

. "Lavender are you here?" Lili and Ally asked. They sounded like they haven't even gotten up yet.

"I'm over here," I said. I tried to stand up. It was when I realized I landed in the fountain. And I was WET.

The first voice I heard was Ally's, "Are we dead yet?" She seemed to be just a few yards away.

"This must be heaven then," Lili said in response. Ally stood up and gave Lili a light slap on the face.

"I don't think we're dead yet," I was still wondering about what I saw. "You guys are cartoons!" I said to them.

"What?" They looked at themselves. "So are you," Lili said.

That was when I realized Amber was missing. "Amber? Amber!" I called out. I looked around. Then I heard a groan.

"Ugh," a familiar voice complained. My eyes simply widened. It took me 5 seconds to realize what was around me. I just couldn't believe it. I looked at Lili and Ally. Their jaws dropped.

Amber started to get up. "What happened?" she said as I tried to help her up. She eventually fell on someone. And that someone was the person I expected to see that hasn't shown himself yet.

"Um, Amber, it seems like you fell on Zuko," Ally said.

"She's right," Lili said.

"That's impossible," She said then she turned around. We saw that Zuko was still trying to get up. Amber face was filled with shock. And, well, she suddenly fainted.

"Amber! Amber! NO! Come back!" Ally yelled as she rushed towards Amber.

"Calm down," Lili said. "She probably was stunned by his highness's beauty," She snickered. Well we should've just expected that.

We turned around and saw 4, no, 5 faces looking at us. Just like us, they were confused. Katara, Sokka, Aang, Toph, and Zuko were standing a few feet away from us.

"Who are you?" Sokka asked. "And what are you?"

"We are humans that come from the galactic armada 300 light years away across the Milky Way," Ally was wearing her prank-like smirk.

"Yes. And we come in peace," Lili decided to play along. Then she showed her hands in a way that her middle finger and ring finger were separted.

I pinched Ally on her leg and she winced. I wanted to laugh myself but this wasn't the right time to do so.

"Are you serious? Or was that just a joke?" Sokka asked again. Katara decided to back him up. "My brother's right. And we didn't even understand a word you said.

"We're sorry. And if you're going to lecture us on not to play with others like that, it's not going to help either of us. And anyways, Sokka does that a lot too," I said.

"The girl has a point," Zuko said.

"Hey!" Sokka yelled.

"Cut it out both of you," Aang said.

"We're sorry again. But we're just as confused as you are. And as hard it is to admit it, we really need your help," Ally said.

"And you need ours too," Lili said.

"And how are you supposed to help us?" Sokka said.

"By letting Zuko join your team," Lili responded.

"We're sorry but it seems like he doesn't even deserve to be here," he said.

"Well if you didn't know any better you can't defeat the firelord on your own. Zuko will be the one to defeat Azula anyway," LIli continued.

"Wasn't it Katara who defeated Azula?" I asked her.

"Right I guess I forgot. Well all of you need help in your love life as well," when Lili said that most of them blushed. "And for another point Sokka should learn how to respect women and not let them do all the chores," three of ur nearly laughed at that last one.

All of them stared at us. Katara spoke up. "But how could you possibly know all that?"

"I guess we just have to explain," I said.


	3. What Happened to Everything Else

Chapter 3: What happened to everything else?

Ally POV:

After a while, we explained almost everything, except for the rest of the episodes beyond The Western Air Temple. We didn't want to give anything away. After explaining Sokka and the rest of the gang was looking at us with their mouths hanging open.

"How could you figure out all that stuff?" Aang asked.

"It was a series. All four of us liked it. We loved it actually. We only wished it were real and now it is," Lavender said. She didn't say it just to say it. She really meant it. And if I said that I would mean it too.

"It seems like they memorize it too. So you also know what's going to happen then?" Zuko raised an eyebrow.

"Of course we do," Lili said. "Didn't we tell you we saw everything?"

"Right…" Sokka said. "But just because you know everything doesn't mean we trust you already," I heard Lavender's palm hit her face.

I groaned. "We told you to keep Zuko and you followed. We asked for your help and you gave it to us because you believed that we won't hurt anyone. If you want more proof, ask us any question about yourself and we'll answer it." I said. Sokka was getting on my nerves. I just wished I could choke him right now.

"I warn you. Ally knows a lot more than I do at this thing so Sokka, you better get ready," Lili said.

"Ok. What's mostly on my mind?" he said.

"Oh that's easy," I smiled. "Meat."

"She nailed you Sokka," Toph was laughing.

Sokka was stomping his feet like an angry girl in the movies. "Fine. Just tell us what's going to happen."

"Why would we do that?" Lavender said.

"You said you would help us. Where's our help?" he said.

"When we said help, we didn't mean to tell you about the future. You might get too dependent on it and not do your part. The help we meant would be just about the decision making. We don't want any of you to lose your way, of course," Lavender said. She stood up and left to check on Amber.

"I still don't understand how you guys ended up in this world anyway," Katara said.

"Neither do we. We didn't know an explosion could cause a vortex that strong to suck us in," I said.

"Maybe it was spirit magic?" Sokka suggested. He made sound effects after.

"I don't think so," Aang said. "Their case sound a bit different compared to what the spirit world can do."

"What happened?" We heard Amber's voice behind us. It sounded a bit weak.

"You fell from the sky. You fell on Zuko. You saw him. You fainted," Katara said.

"That sounds like a long story," Amber sat down. She was still a bit tipsy. "What episode are we in already?"

"The Western Air Temple," I said.

"Didn't you mean what place?" Aang corrected. "We are in the western air temple."

"That was the title of the episode also. It was the episode where Zuko was pleading you to let him join you guys," I answered.

"Shouldn't Katara be yelling at him already?" Amber asked.

"I should?" Katara asked unsure.

"Were you planning to?" Amber asked confused.

"No. Why?" She said.

"That's odd. You were supposed to. You wanted to protect Aang and another reason is because you hate Zuko" Lili said.

The gang burst out laughing. Katara blushed. Zuko looked shocked. Amber, on the other hand seemed annoyed. The four of us just stayed there looking confused.

"Katara…hates…Zuko? You've got… to be… kidding me," Toph tried to say this while laughing.

"Yeah, right. Katara doesn't hate Zuko," Aang was laughing a little louder than Toph.

"That's impossible. Katara would never hate Zuko," Sokka just had another outburst.

Katara never hated Zuko? That's impossible to us. We all knew that she hated him more than any character did (that's what we thought). She was supposed to hate him until the episode of The Southern Raiders.

"That sound a bit out of character for Katara. She probably did the opposite," Sokka wiped a tear from his eye.

"WHAT!" four of us chorused. Even Lavender looked shocked. We knew Katara loved Aang. But most of us were Zutarians. Only Lili was a Maiko fan.

"How did that happen?" I asked. "That wasn't what the series showed."

"Well, I guess you don't know everything at all," Sokka said.

By now, my patience reached its limit. I went to Sokka and started strangling him. I didn't even hesitate. Lili and Amber started laughing. Lavender rushed to me and tried to pull me off of him. When she did, I tried to go back and punch him instead. Lavender was laughing a bit too.

"What was that?" Sokka asked.

"Her outrage," Lavender answered. "But that's not what we want to talk about. What about Zuko? How does he feel about Katara?"

"Probably the same," Sokka said. "How are we supposed to know?"

By now Amber fainted again. Lili caught her this time.

"What about Mai? She'll kill you if she finds out," I said.

"What are you talking about?" Zuko asked. He seemed like he didn't know about her at all.

"The daughter of the governor who took over Umashu," I said. "Shouldn't you know about her?"

"That governor doesn't have any daughter when we went to Umashu," Aang said.

"Honestly, none of us have ever heard of her. We don't know her at all. We've never even met her," Zuko said.

"She's Azula friend. How could you not know?" Lavender furrowed her eyebrows.

"Azula has never had a friend whose name is Mai, ever," Zuko answered.

"That can't be," I said. We knew Mai was there. She should be here.

Even I couldn't believe it. Zuko made it sound like Mai never existed


	4. Impossible

Chapter 4: Impossible

Lavender POV:

It's already been a few days. My friends and I are still stuck here. And well... we didn't actually know a way to get back to our world, and, we weren't even planning to... yet. We're still in the Western Air Temple and things were getting a bit boring. Well... that and the fact that Ally has been getting a lot of tantrums lately. And poor Sokka nearly broke a bone.

Now, Aang and Zuko were firebending somewhere there. The rest of us were stuck here.

"What do you guys do here for fun?" Lili asked. She was playing with a bunch of small rock and kept throwing them out the window.

"We don't exactly know. We usually train Aang," Katara said.

"The series is much better to look at than this. This is pretty boring," Amber said. She was right (for the whole time we've been sitting around all day).

"That's because we have nothing to do. We can't have fun like they can. We don't even know if we can bend any elements at all," I said. I was leaning on the wall and slid my back down so I could sit.

"Wait, you guys can't bend!" Toph jolted right up. She was lying on the floor a few minutes ago and was picking her toes.

"Welcome to the club," Sokka said sarcastically.

"We never said we'd join you and we're not jerks like you," Ally told him.

"Ouch," Katara said at the same time Sokka stood up. "Hey where are you going?"

"Outside, I want to check how Aang and Zuko are doing," he grabbed an apple before he went outside.

"There's more where that came from and don't you dare touch my stuff again!" Ally yelled at him.

We all looked at her like she's gone mental. "Hey the dude took my cupcake and gave it to Appa," She reasoned.

"So you guys can't bend at all?"Toph asked.

"Well, we don't really know..." I said.

"Let's go figure out then," Katara stood up and brushed dust off her skirt. "Let's go."

Toph stood up and followed Katara outside. I looked at Ally and she lifted her shoulders in an unsure gesture and four of us followed them outside.

Amber POV:

I wasn't really sure to where this was getting to so I just followed the rest outside. I can't even believe I get to see actual bending (but a bit pissed that I still have to see it in a cartoon kind of way). I blew my hair off my face as we walked to a plain surface. It had a wall on one side and on the other side; it looked like a really long fall.

"So where does this lead to?" Allyasked. She stood a few meters away from the wall and crossed her arms. I stood right beside her.

"You seem to be really ready. Are you?" Katara faced the rest of us.

"Of course we're ready!" Ally replied.

"I like her. She's tough. And apparently has the guts to stand up to your bossy brother," Toph said. A smile crept up Ally's face. She's always wanted that.

"Um, since we don't know what element you can bend let's see how you defend yourself," Katara was already in her waterbending position and Toph was in her stance as well.

If you look at it well, it was pretty awkward. They we in defensive and offensive mode and we were just standing there like a bunch of idiots. I shook my head and took a step backward. And so did Lavender and Lili. Ally… You know how she is.

The first thing I saw was Toph moving. She stomped her foot on the ground and pushed her arms forward. The next thing I knew, a rock was aiming towards Ally and me. Ally jumped reflexively to the side. I tried to do the same but my feet won't move. The rock hit me head on. I slammed onto the wall behind me. A few smaller rocks fell on me then.

My mind wasn't that messed up but the only thing I could manage to say was, "Ouch…"

"Amber!" Three of them yelled my name. I could clearly hear them. And I was fully aware of what was going on. I didn't manage to get up just yet.

Ally looked at me. Toph decided to shoot another rock at us. Ally rushed in front of me. In a couple of seconds, she was able to fix herself into a fighting position and was able to punch the rock causing to crumble into little tiny pieces.

"Ally!" I said excitedly. "You can earthbend!"

Ally smiled. She seemed so happy to finally earthbend. "Wow," she said. "I can't believe it!" then she laughed.

"That's good. Toph stop throwing rocks for a minute, ok?" Katara held her palm up in a gesture to stop Toph. Ally went to me and pulled me up and out of the rocks.

"Hey thanks," I told her. "For, you know, saving me back there. I was scared to death until you punched that rock into small bits."

"It's no big, it was thanks to you anyway," Ally replied.

"What do you mean?" I showed a confused looked.

Ally smiled evilly. "Thanks to you getting hit by that rock, I finally discovered my earthbending capabilities,"

"What did you say!" I grabbed Ally by the neck and started chocking her. She was right, of course. (Changes scene: Amber becomes a giant and starts choking small Ally)

"That's enough both of you," Katara said calmly. "1 down, 3 left to go. Ally, stay there by the corner. And don't try to help your friends while they try to defend themselves."

Fright filled all three of us. "What if we get killed?" I asked. What was wrong with me? I was exaggerating but it could happen.

"Why would we kill you?" Toph said. "We're the good guys remember?"

"I'll just rethink that when you actually threw a huge boulder at me," I yelled at her. A fighting urge was rising inside me.

"You're the ones who wanted to figure out your elements anyway," Toph yelled back.

"Amber let it go," I looked back to see Lili.

"She's right," Lavender said.

"Fine," I groaned.

Katara moved forward and put on her stance. She smiled and quickly whipped water very quick. The water she bent moved quickly like a snake. It hit the ground right away. I heard gasps from all of us, well, except from Toph and Katara. The water hit again and this time there were two snake-like things. It looked like the one Katara used to fight Zuko in the cave in Ba Sing Se. Katara whipped it again. This time it hit the places where Lavender and I were standing. Both of us jumped back. We quickly dodged it but Katara was still quick. She aimed for Lili and Lavender again. But this time the water grabbed Lili's foot. Lavender fell on her back as the water grabbed her too.

"Lili!" Ally yelled. I looked at Ally. Suddenly earth rose from that spot. I tried to listen. "No, stop. Katara told you not to help them," Toph said. They have to try to figure this out on their own." "But-" "Sugar Queen said to just watch, ok?" The block of earth disappeared and Ally sat down looking like a spoiled girl who didn't get what she wanted. She saw me and she stood up. "Amber look out!" she pointed to behind me.

"No! Aaaaaahhhhhhhh!" something grabbed my foot. Then it lashed Lili and me on the ground and then it let go.

Katara whipped it again and it grabbed Lavender's arm. Then it also grabbed Lavender's other arm. Lavender was pulling back her arms as she resisted. "No!" She tried to twist it off her. I couldn't understand the movements she made after that. But then we didn't realize the whip broke.

"What!" There were a lot of gasps. Katara tried again and this time Lavender pulled it off Katara. Lili and I were finally able to stand up after the pain subsided.

"Well done," Katara said. The water splashed to the ground. "It's nice to meet another waterbender around here," she went to Lavender and offered to shake her hand. Lavender shook it. "It's not that often that someone manages to break any of my waterbending."

"Thank you," Lavender said.

"Um, can we quicken this up a bit? We're waiting here," I said.

"We'll deal with this later," Katara smiled. "Toph get over here. We're even now." Toph made her fingers crack. "Time to have some fun"

Lili and I gulped. "Lili if I die now can you avenge my death?" I told her.

"I doubt I'll survive too," Lili said. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "Good luck to the both of us" Lili nodded.

"I seem to be getting the same vibe from both of them. I think both have the same element," Toph said.

"Let's try to find out," Katara whipped up water again. Toph took place and here began the shooting. Lili jumped back and forth to evade Katara's water whips. I on the other hand had to run all over the place just to avoid Toph's rocks (which right now was smaller than the one she shot at me earlier). I ran around looking like an idiot. This would be embarrassing if Zuko saw it. A wall of earth rose in front of me and unsurprisingly, I hit it. It went down and I fell with my face on the ground. I groaned then stood up. How am I supposed to defend myself?

I always liked fire the best. To be honest I really didn't know what to do right now. I wished my element was fire. It always looked so awesome. I got into a lot of arguments with these three just to say that fire for me is the best. It does have a few advantages like lightning. It always looked awesome on the way Azula and Iroh do it. But if my element was fire, how do I even try to evade their attacks? How am I even sure that fire is my element?

"Hey, Toph! Let's switch," Katara said. I was so happy but I just remembered that Katara grabbed my foot a few moments ago. I tried to follow Lili by jumping back and forth. It was no good. Katara decided to try icicle spears this time. "Hey! No fair!" I yelled at her.

"You guys should defend yourselves. You don't even look like your trying," Toph said. "All you ever do is move around."

"How are we even supposed to do that?" It was at that time I hit my back with Lili's.

I changed my voice to a whisper. "What do we do?" I asked her. "I don't know." She jumped up. "Let's try to do basic movements first," I suggested. "Earth first"

I tried to push my arms forward or even try to move a rock while Katara and Toph still aimed at us. A rock hit my foot and this time I acted like a spoiled child jumping up and down because my foot hurts.

"Any luck?" I asked Lili. "Nope," she sighed. "Water," I told her. We moved our arms in a wave-like movement and it was still no use. "Air?" We tried to follow some of Aang's moves and yet again another failure. "Fire," we said together. "How do we do that?" Lili asked unsure. "Maybe, but I'm not that sure. If we are fire we might be able to melt Katara's ice spears," "But what about Toph?" "I don't know but let's just try some firebending moves ok?"

Katara threw another ice spear at us. But now I was her target. I closed my hand into a fist and threw a punch; in a way that Zuko does his. Then the ice melted. I looked behind me to see that Toph was throwing smaller rocks and Lili was showing a few fire punches.

I smiled. I was so happy that I finally knew my element but even happier that it happened to be fire. Lili and I sat on a bunch of rocks while Katara and Toph tried to teach Lavender and Saige a few tricks. I was too happy to even notice what was going to happen right after this. Lili and I tried those fire punches again. I was too excited and tris time I tried much bigger firebending. But by then my firebending shrank. "What?" I complained.

"Hey what's wrong?" Lili asked. I threw another and it was smaller. "My crappy firebending is getting smaller! I don't understand," I said.

"Maybe It's the altitude?" She said trying to imitate Aang's voice when he said that to Zuko.

"How could you say that! Your firebending's still strong," I complained again.

"I don't know Amber ok? Just like you I'm new to this stuff," She looked down. I groaned. How could this happen to me? I know I'm exaggerating. I just desperately want to firebend that much.

"Get out of here!" We heard Zuko and Toph looked up.

"What's going on?" Katara asked.

"Zuko's sulking," Lavender said.

"What? Why?" Toph asked.

"He just lost his stuff," Ally smiled evilly again. And with that, I had a pretty brilliant Idea, it was a bit risky but still dangerous.


	5. The Masters

Chapter 5: The Masters

Lili POV:

We gathered around a fire like in campfire. We were introduced to Haru, Teo and the Duke. I've got to admit Teo actually looks cute. And I can't believe Haru has a mustache! How old is he anyway? How could he even have a mustache?

I sat beside Lavender and Amber. Amber was still pissed. I was happy to finally figure out my element and so was she but hers was a bit weak. I'm sure she's weighing her options right now or maybe she's just too sad to think.

All of us were here except Zuko. I saw him standing behind a pillar. Then he finally moved. "Guys, I've got some pretty bad news,"

Then I saw Lavender and Saige mouthing the exact same words. I tried to hold back my laugh.

"I've lost my stuff," Zuko continued while the two of them still mouthed his words when he said it.

"Hey don't look at me. I didn't touch your stuff," Toph said. Lavender did the exact same moves also.

"I'm talking about my firebending; It's gone," He looked down. Right now I couldn't help but laugh on what Ally looked like. Everyone had a serious expression on. "Sorry," I said.

"I'm sorry. I was just laughing at the irony. You know how it would've been nice for us if you lost your firebending a long time ago," Lavender said in a Katara voice. Everyone looked at Katara that instant. Zuko glared at her. He already looked kind of pissed. "Hey, I swear I didn't say anything. I didn't even laugh," she defended.

Zuko didn't mind it any longer. He just continued, "It's not lost. It's just weaker for some reason."

Lavender did it again. "Maybe you're not as good as you think you are," This time everyone looked at Katara, again. They couldn't even notice that she never opened her mouth.

"Ouch," Toph suddenly said. Zuko suddenly threw glances at them; glances that might have them scrambling off a cliff.

"Look people, I didn't say anything! I kept my mouth shut the whole time. And I swear my voice is a lot different. Right, Sokka?" She asked him.

"Sorry sis. That thing we just heard it was you. So deal with it okay?" he told her. Beside me Ally and Lavender high-fived and Amber had an evil smile on.

Zuko ignored them and went on, "I bet it's because I changed sides,"

"That's ridiculous," Lavender smiled.

"Would you cut that out!" he yelled at Katara. "I didn't say anything" she defended. Toph, Saige and I burst out laughing.

"Hey you two lovebirds show cut it out. Just cut it Sugar Queen," Toph told her. "But-" she cut herself off. She knew it was useless. She slumped back. "Go on" Toph told them.

"I don't know. Maybe it isn't. Maybe your firebending comes from rage and you just don't have anger to fuel it the way you used to," Aang suggested.

"So all we need to do is make Zuko angry. Easy enough," suddenly Sokka started poking Zuko with his sword. To be honest you could actually see smoke rising from Zuko when he gets angrier.

"Okay! Cut it out!" He yelled. The four of us burst out laughing.

"Sorry. We're trying to look at this moment from a different point so just ignore us okay?" I told them. I was snickering a bit. Sokka was so funny. He even had his sword fall on his head.

Zuko did ignore us. "Look. Even if you're right I don't wanna rely on hate and anger anymore. There has to be another way," He said.

"Now is my time to shine!" Ally whispered. The she let out a small laugh before starting.

Toph and Ally both started talking. "You're going to need to learn to draw your firebending from a different source. I recommend the original source," Unlike Katara, Toph wasn't pissed. She just smiled. The rest of the Gaang just looked at Ally with mouths hanging open.

Sokka didn't seem to be paying attention at all. "And how is he supposed to do that? By jumping into a volcano?" Honestly his voice is a lot sounds more like a girl if you pay attention.

"No, Zuko needs to back to whatever the original source of firebending is," And this time Ally's smile spread.

"So is it jumping into a volcano?" Sokka asked. Right now the group waited for the entire conversation to finish before actually bombarding us with questions on how we knew how to do their voices.

(The conversation went on just like in the show so I don't have to explain it that much. I know you already know.)

"The Sun Warrior Civilization isn't too far from where we are now. Maybe we learn something out by poking around their ruins," Zuko said.

"Just like the monks used to tell me. Sometimes the shadows of the past can be felt by the present," Aang responded.

"So you're just going to stand there and wait for some Sun Warrior magic to work and you'll suddenly learn a new way of firebending?" I said it before Sokka could.

"More or less. Either I find a new way to firebend or the avatar has to find a new teacher," he said.

"Hey guys, I'm not really here to ruin the moment but can I come with you?" Amber begged.

"No," Zuko said without having second thoughts.

"Oh come on! You expect me to get down on my knees and beg for this. Please please! Bring me along! I'll do anything!" She said.

"The answer is still no," Zuko went to his room.

"Sorry Amber. I can't do anything about it," Aang apologized.

"It's okay," she told him and she turned around to face us. Little did she know that we were strategizing on how they were going to drag her along without letting them know about it. It was hard because it was hard to think about other stuff right now, now that we knew we could bend the elements.

"Hey Amber!" I called her. "Aang might not do anything but we can," Three of us smiled.

"What are you talking about?" She already looked confused enough.

"We have a plan. And that plan is going to get you to go with them," Lavender Said.

"Ok. If this plan might work, I'll spend a week of servitude to her," She said.

"I did! Oh isn't this great!" I squealed.

Amber groaned. "Ok let's just get to this plan of yours,"

"We've decided this…." Lavender started…..

Amber POV:

"You've got to be kidding me!" I screamed. "You can't expect me to stay in there!"

"Do you want to go to the masters or not? If you do you have to get in that sack," Lili told me. "And if this works you'll owe me a week of servitude. This is so going to work!"

"This is so going to cost me a lot," I groaned. Lavender and Saige were finally here. They spent the whole night working and looking for the sack that could fit me. While on the other hand, Lili and I just stayed up all night to argue. I can't believe these guys are working so hard just for me to get on this field trip but they get their entertainment and they could actually take a picture of me in it which would embarrass me for the rest of my life.

"We found it!" They said. "I thought you said you were going to make it" I told them.

"We never said we could actually make a sack so we looked around and found one that could fit you," Ally said. She smiled and held it up.

"I can't believe I'm doing this," I groaned.

"Correction! The correct version of that would be, you owe us. Lili thought of a plan, Ally and I looked for that sack of yours and where does our hard work go to? We never even received a simple thank you," Lavender said. Lili and Ally nodded behind her.

"Fine. Thank you for everything," I looked to my right and saw the sun rising. Three of them nodded and ordered me inside the sack. "Lili go get the food," Lavender ordered.

"What!" I screamed. Ally laughed when Lili came in and poured the food in the sack. "Hey that hurt," I rubbed my head.

"Good luck handing them the food," Ally said. "I'm really going to post this online. Hang in there,"

They started walking and they were carrying me a long with them. I had to curl up just to fit in with the food so my shape wouldn't be noticeable.

"Hey, Zuko. Here's food for the trip. There's a lot in it so finish it or else," Ally warned.

"Sure. Hand it to me," He ordered. Ally gave the sack to him. Zuko grabbed it just right above my head and I nearly fainted then. "This seems to be a bit heavier than it looks," he said. I didn't hear any shuffling so I guess they handled the situation well.

"Off we go. Yip-yip," Aang said. Then we were off. It was a bit nerve racking but I was able to deal with it. Zuko kept on moving around and changing positions. I can't see because of the sack but I could tell.

"We've been riding for hours. I don't know why but I thought this thing would go a lot faster," Zuko said. Then Appa growled. "Appa's right, Zuko. In our group typically we start out our missions with a more upbeat attitude," Aang told him. "I can't believe this." Zuko complained. "Hey I'm going to check the food they sent us," He suddenly pulled the sack. I put my hand on my mouth to prevent myself from saying anything. It was a good thing Zuko didn't pull the sack upright. The bad thing was he accidentally pulled my hair so I squealed instead of screaming.

"Aang did you say anything?" He asked him.

"No. I thought that was you squealing like a girl," Aang told him. I quickly moved and handed him the fruits I saw and I was hoping he didn't sense any movement. He quickly closed the sack again and we were having the silent treatment. Both of them didn't say anything and neither did I. only until the 'WOAH' part did everyone start talking again. Once Appa landed Zuko opened the sack again and grabbed another fruit and I was thankful it wasn't my head anymore. That made it easier for me to get out. When he left I tried to untie the loose knot he did. But man! This was hard to do! I tried again and that just made the situation worse. I move out of my position and something stabbed my foot. _A small knife!_I grabbed it and tried to make my way out. I can't imagine myself try to win a sack race with this and beating those two there. I cut of the top of the sack and got off Appa. I told him to stay there even though I knew telling him was useless.

I rushed to the direction they were heading and found the trap that was already activated. There were spikes and that scared me to the bone. I tried Zuko's move and miraculously it worked. I was happy dancing then. That's when it hit me. They were already ahead and I was left behind I ran to the place where the doors would open. I was there but by the time I reached it the doors suddenly closed.

"Zuko! Aang! Are you okay?" I yelled. At that moment I was trying to pry the doors open. "Amber?" both of them said. "I told you not to go!" Zuko yelled at me. "I'm already here so stop whining! Let me guess, you're stuck to the roof aren't you?" I said to him. "You knew this would happen! Why didn't you tell us?" Zuko yelled again. He has a point. "Then you should've brought me along! I'm going to go around and check if there's another way out," I told them.

I did go around and ran. I tried to kick the walls but it won't budge. _Duh! It's a wall. What were you even thinking Amber!_ I went around this time to fall through a hole. "Aaaaaaahhhhhhh" I screamed.

I fell on solid ground. But this time it had soil and a bit of mud. I groaned. Behind me was a wall. Above me was a spiraling hole and in front of me was a path. I ran as I followed it. I don't know why I was in such a hurry. I don't know how far I've gone but I just kept on going. I suddenly stopped to a halt. There was a really big space around me. I looked around and nearly fainted. There were two dragons positioned at both sides. I took a step back and a rock was crushed. My eyes widened as I saw the dragons' eyes snap open. They started flying around and the blue one went behind me. I moved forward and that made me stand in the center. I was scared to death and hearing another growl that didn't come from the two dragons in front me made it even scarier. The red one turned around and with that queue both of them blew fire. I screamed like I used to and the real thing was a bit shocking. I opened my eyes and saw what Aang and Zuko did in The Masters (Which was happening right now). Once the dragons stopped they returned to their original positions.

The red one adjusted and I saw something was behind him. It was a smaller dragon that seemed to be a lot younger than they are. It made its way to me. And to me, it looked like it smiled. It nudged my foot. I sat down and it lied down on my lap (which happens to be too small for him. It was bigger than me by the way). A horn sounded the two dragons earlier. And they left the spot right away. I started talking to myself and to the dragon. "So… any new stuff around here?" I asked it. It growled. "Yeah. Life is pretty boring," I told it. This seems too crazy for me.

The two dragons returned after the whole ritual was done. I fell asleep so I didn't know how much time has passed. The only thing that happened then was that I was being moved by someone. A sun warrior? I opened my eyes and fell to the ground. It was the dragon and a few sun warriors were surrounding us. The chief, I recognized immediately, was standing in front of me. "Who are you?" He asked.

"I… I'm with those two idiots who were just here hours ago," I told him.

"Ah. You must be Amber then?" He assumed. "yes." I told him.

"You seemed to earn a dragon's trust quite quickly. It took us a long time to handle this one," he gestured to the small dragon. It nudged me again. "If you need help this little one will offer it to you. You must be on your way. We won't bother you any longer," He said then left.

That was freaky and what did he mean by those. The small dragon was nudging my hand so I opened it to him. He placed something like a whistle on it. "Thanks," I told it. It straightened itself up which could mean something I don't know. It moved at me as if to gesture me to come with it. I sat down on it and hoped it didn't think I was heavy. It flew so quickly then.

Lavender POV:

Zuko and Aang arrived but they didn't bring Amber. They said they looked for her but they didn't find her. It's only been a day but all of us were really really worried. I was outside and it was hell alright. Katara, Toph and Ally were yelling at Aang and Zuko for the 7th time. They promised to look for her but again they didn't find a trace of her.

There was an odd sound. "What's that?" I asked.

"Probably Katara yelling her head off," Sokka said. "I can hear it too," Lili said.

I ran to the area where the yellers were and passed by in the middle of their conversation. "Hey where are you two going? Shouldn't you be helping us?" Ally said.

"No. Wait," I was finally out of the building and saw wavy red creature coming towards us. Something was riding it. I was looking up until I was finally able to figure it out. I yelled, "Amber!"

"Lavender!" she responded. She was smiling. And what the hell was she riding! It was a dragon! Everyone was staring at me like I was an idiot until they went out and saw everything for themselves. Zuko and Aang were astonished. They were trying to touch it until they nearly got their hands burned.

"Where were you?" I asked Amber.

"I was stuck at that darn place for a day because I was asleep. I'm just glad enough I met her," she pointed to the dragon. The boys froze.

"It's a girl!" they exclaimed.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" Amber showed her fist that was on fire to the guys.

"No!" then they scattered to their original places.

"You two!" she pointed at them. "You owe me,"

"And you owe us," three of us said.

"You mostly owe me! And that's one week! This is great!" Lili was so happy.

And now Amber groaned. "We sure did miss you. Even if it was just a day," Ally started messing with Amber again.

"What's next?" Lili asked me.

"Let's just wait. But if were in a rush, the next thing is the Boiling Rock," I told her and we smiled.


	6. The Boiling Rock Part 1

Chapter 6: The Boiling Rock (Part 1)

Ally's POV

"No one can make tea like Uncle, but hopefully I've learned a thing or two. Would you like to hear Uncle's favorite tea joke?" Zuko said, clutching his tray of tea cups each filled with fragrant chamomile tea.

I inhaled the sweet aroma and felt my insides to a little flop. What could possibly be more relaxing than this?

"Sure" Katara chimed, eyeing Zuko as he passed a cup to Haru.

"I like jokes!" Aang added with his cheeky smile.

"Bring it!" Toph sounded in.

"Okay, but I can't remember how it starts-" Zuko said heading over to Teo.

"I wonder how this would turn out... "Amber let out a muffled giggle that was just loud enough for Ally and Lavender to hear.

Lavender chortled and Ally chuckled. It was good that Zuko didn't hear anything.

"-but the punch line is 'leaf me alone, I'm bushed' " He continued, pausing to raise his index finger.

The whole party was suddenly awkwardly silent. "Well it's funnier when Uncle tells it" Zuko said in a saddened tone.

Katara must've sensed his change of mood, so she decided to top it off with one of her side comments...

"Right, maybe that's because he remembers the whole thing."

Everyone broke into laughter.

I spotted Zuko smiling and took a sip of my tea. My insides grew warm like someone just drew a blanket over me.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?" Sokka whispered to Zuko. He led Zuko to the fountain area.

My suspicion towered inside me. I excused myself and followed them secretly. I caught sight of Appa and I tipped toed behind him.

"Shhhhh!" I muttered to the flying bison.

"So what's up?" Zuko responded.

"If someone was captured by the fire nation, where would they be taken?" Sokka replied facing Zuko.

"What do you mean? Who was captured?" I could almost feel Zuko's curiosity.

"When the invasion failed, one of our troops were taken. I wanna know where they might be," Sokka explained, pacing back and forth.

My heart was stammering in my chest.

"Go on... Tell him," I whispered under my breath.

Appa must've heard me, so he made a low rumbling noise.

For a split second, Sokka and Zuko turned to the spot where the noise came from, but later resumed their small talk.

I let out a huge sigh of relief.

"I can't tell you," Zuko replied, his shoulders slumping.

"What? Why not?" Sokka said cooking his head in confusion.

"Trust me, knowing will just make you feel worse." Zuko said, turning to leave.

Sokka put a hand on his shoulder causing him to halt abruptly. "It's my dad. He was captured too. I need to know what I put him through."

I tried to listen but the blood pounding in my ears made it rather difficult to make out what they were saying.

"It's not good Sokka." Zuko answered, losing interest.

"Please." Sokka said with hope in his tone.

"My guess is... They were taken to the Boiling Rock."

An evil smile crept up my face.

"What's that?" Sokka wondered, lowering his voice.

"The highest security prison in the fire nation. It's on an island in the middle of a boiling lake. It's inescapable." Zuko said, his voice trailing off.

"So where is this place?" Sokka said slightly annoyed.

"Why do you need to know? What are you planning?" Zuko flashed Sokka a confused look.

"Nothing. Boy, you're so paranoid," Sokka turned and started to head back.

"It's in the middle of a volcano between here and the fire nation. You guys actually flew past in on your way here." Zuko said suddenly making Sokka stop in his tracks.

"Thanks." Sokka said faking a yawn. "Just knowing makes me feel better"

"Yeah. I'm sure it does." Zuko said raising an eyebrow.

As soon as they were out of sight, I slipped back.

"Where did you come from?" Teo questioned, putting down his cup.

"Ummmm... I had to check on stuff" I lied.

Soon enough the candles were out and Aang's snores filled the temple.

I couldn't sleep so I got up and climbed into Appa.

_All I have to do now is to wait..._I thought.

After what seemed like years, a guy with a scar on his face approached the bison.

Zuko didn't notice me at first, until I started tapping my fingers on the cart.

"What are you doing here?" Zuko exclaimed, looking really astonished.

"I'll be frank. I'm going with you to this Boiling rock, and there's no way you can stop me. Understand?" I said in a new expression that Zuko couldn't read.

It took a few seconds for Zuko to respond.

"Fine, but you have to hurry."

"Don't worry, I've already packed and patched up that balloon of yours." I responded with an irritated tone.

Zuko gaped at her. I spotted a familiar ponytail and acted quickly.

"Quick! Get down!" I said shoving Zuko.

Sokka got up and nearly fell when he saw the both of us.

"Where do you think you're going?" Zuko said crossing his arms.

I mimicked Zuko and added my signature smirk.

"It's none of your business." Sokka said, climbing up.

"Let me guess… You're going to the boiling rock." I replied glancing at Sokka.

Sokka ignored me and continued unpacking.

"C'mon, you're going to ride Appa? Last time I checked, prisons don't have bison day cares." Zuko paused. "We'll take my war balloon."

* * *

The air grew warm and humid. My eyelids fluttered. I must've fallen asleep when we were somewhere between the temple and the lake.

Zuko was firebending while Sokka was busy sulking in the corner.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?" Zuko said, trying to bring up a conversation.

"My first girlfriend turned into the moon." Sokka said while gazing upwards.

"That's rough, buddy." Zuko replied, shoving more coal into the fire.

A few hours later Sokka's loud snores echoed. I yawned and walked up to the edge and observed the scenery below. There was nothing but water...

The balloon started descending rapidly. Thick smoke enveloped the atmosphere.

"Don't look now, but I think we're here." I said in a soft whisper.

Zuko shook Sokka and his snores soon died away.

More thick smoke slapped our faces, making us cough a little. The balloon was moving downward dangerously fast. Zuko tried firebending with more power, but nothing seemed to have taken effect.

"The air outside is as hot as the air inside!" Sokka panicked, clutching the sides of the balloon.

"Nothing's gonna crash on my watch." I said, getting into position. I loosened my wrist and planted my feet on the ground. My left hand moved with a swish and a huge block of earth appeared on the balloons left flank. I did the same thing on the right and another block appeared.

"Hopefully, this barrier will slow us down." I said still holding on.

As planned the balloon slowed down but it still crash landed.

"The rudder's broken. I don't see what the use of this is anymore." Zuko groaned from behind.

"It's just a pile of junk now," Sokka grumbled, pushing the debris into the scorching water.

For a moment, the water bubbled, then metal pieces disappeared.

"I think we need to come up with another plan." Sokka sighed. "Any ideas, Ally?"

I made no reply.

"Ally?" Sokka turned to the spot where I once stood but no one was there. He followed the footprints and found me, the caramel haired girl, looking up.

Sokka gasped at the towering structures. It had metal walls sealed shut. The only way in and out is the gondola. Its windows were miniscule.

"Now I get why it's called the highest security prison..." I finally said a word.

"Now you see what I mean... "Zuko replied shaking his head.

The inside was just as protected as the outside. The walls were made out of metal, so were the doors, almost everything was metal.

I suddenly felt claustrophobic. I must've developed a certain dislike to this material. It seemed to cage my mind, my thoughts, my body, my will. If only Toph had taught me how to metal bend.

"This way," Sokka motioned us to follow. He led us to an armoury where the guard uniforms were kept.

"These will serve as our temporary disguises," Sokka said, handing Zuko a guard uniform.

"Are you serious? In case you haven't noticed, I'm twelve! "I said with a pout.

"Well you are kind of tall for your age..." Sokka pointed out.

"I'm not as tall as you guys are. They'll notice me right away!" I said handing back the uniform.

"Do you want to get caught?"

"Fine, just this once.

* * *

The handle turned and three guards (that's us) exited the armoury.

"This suit is itchy..."I complained, fumbling the sides of my uniform.

"Guards! There's been a commotion!" a female guard yelled.

We scrambled to the courtyard. It was some scene. All of the guards were gathered in a circle closing in on the prisoner. They pushed through the crowd to see what going on.

"You didn't follow the rules... **Chit Zang"** the head guard hissed at a tall and buff prisoner.

Chit Zang... This sounded awfully familiar to me.

"What? What did I do?" Chit Zang snapped.

"You didn't bow to me when I passed by." the head guard snarled.

"I will never bow down to you," Chit Zang growled, his nostrils flaring. He turned his back against the guard. The guard whipped up a fire whip in an attempt to burn Chit Zang. He was quick; he had to use firebending to dodge the attack.

"No firebending allowed!" the headquarters screeched. "Take him to the cooler"

"You," he pointed at Sokka. "Help me bring him."

"I'll meet you guys in the top tower." Sokka mumbled running off.

Sokka came to what they said was the cooler. He and the head guard threw Chit Zang inside. The cold air pierced his skin and made him shiver.

"He won't be fire bending in there" the head guard commented, bolting the door shut.

* * *

The canteen smelled like cooked food. The smell tickled my nose. "Man, I am so hungry," I said, trying to stop my stomach from growling.

"Hey, you can't talk remember?" Zuko replied shuffling over to a table.

I mouthed, _oh right...__ (apparently, talking would blow my cover right away)_

Zuko returned with a tray of food for the both of them. I quickly snatched the bowl and wolfed down the food.

Three guards came inside and sat beside us.

"Hey, newbies. You don't need to wear your helmets during break time," the female one laughed.

We did our best in trying to fool the three. As much as possible, we kept the talking to them.

"Right... Are there war prisoners here?" Zuko asked.

"Nope but I heard the warden's bringing in a new set of prisoners," the guard replied.

Zuko tapped my shoulder, telling me that we should leave. I took one last bite of my fish stick and followed Zuko.

* * *

Sokka walked briskly to the rendezvous point grinning at each officer he passed by. **  
**

By then, he had seen two figures approach him. One was gripping on to the other.

"Ummmm... Hot day isn't it?" the figure said in a familiar voice.

"Zuko?" Sokka replied.

"Hey, a guard told us there were no war prisoners. Sorry."

Sokka's face fell. "Oh no, we came here for nothing." he dragged himself over to the corner and peered over the edge. Zuko started to give those useless advices his uncle would say but then they still made no sense.

"I got it!" Sokka replied with a huge grin.

"That's the spirit!" Zuko exclaimed. "I can't believe that actually worked."

"No, what you said made no sense" said Sokka "Look! It's Suki!"

Sokka pointed to a brunette girl mopping the floor. I walked over to him and saw who he was pointing at.

* * *

I was on my supposed daily guard rounds when I spotted something or someone familiar.

_Spiky blonde hair with fading brown highlights... Green eyes... Now where have I seen that before?_I thought while trying to recall the identity mysterious person was.

Then it popped into my head. Zen! The hot assistant Lavender's been crushing on. How could I forget? What was he doing here? _By the way, I never found him to be that hot..._

I ran to the cell where he was kept. I twisted the knob and squeezed inside.

"Zen, it's me... Ally" I whispered in a low voice.

"Ally? How did you get here?" he replied getting up.

He was way taller than I was. I was only until his shoulder.

"I'd like to ask you the same question."

"It's not easy to explain. An explosion happened and I got sucked in. Next thing I knew I was in Ba Sing Se. This guy called Jet encouraged me to be a freedom fighter-"

"And you agreed?" I said with a mocking look.

"Then you can conclude that that's the reason why I'm here now."

"I don't see why you shouldn't come... with us." I replied with absolutely no emotion.

Zen's face instantly lit up. He flashed me a twitchy smile.

I rushed out of the room bringing Zen with me only to meet up with Zuko. Zuko looked back and Zen's expression could not be read.


End file.
